IBSE Final

xvi NaTIoNal SCIENCE TEaChERS aSSoCIaTIoN

Prologue Connecting the Past and Future

A Conceptual Framework for BSCS

Paul F-Brandwein had significant influence on the conceptual framework used

at BSCS. In a 1976 article titled “Reflections on the Early Days of BSCS,” Bentley

Glass had this to say after an introduction about organisms and the levels of

organization used in the design of BSCS programs:

Especially, we agreed to select and emphasize a limited number of great biolog-

ical concepts, or themes, that would run clearly throughout every phase of the

treatment in every version, or program. The nine themes we chose, a procedure

in which Paul Brandwein played a leading part, are so well known it is unnec-

essary to itemize them, except in the form of the diagram which provides our

matrix of organizing ideas. (Glass 1976, pp. 3 –4)

You can see in this quotation the importance that Brandwein placed on

major conceptual ideas, in this case for the discipline of biology. I thought this

quotation especially appropriate because it shows Paul’s leadership at BSCS and

provides connections to other sections of this book. His ideas influenced the

other founders and early development of BSCS. Indeed, his influence continues

to this day and will do so into the future.

As a gifted teacher himself, Brandwein clearly had a major influence on

BSCS programs for the exceptionally talented science student. He came to BSCS

well aware of the limitations of the lecture and of existing textbooks and was

determined to help transform science education. To quote Calvin Stillman,

The role of the warm mentor is fundamental in Paul’s work. The younger person

has to identify himself, and once he does so, the mentor is the strong person who

helps the young one to find out [through original work] what it means to be a

scientist. For Paul, science was the system of constructing a hypothesis and

testing it carefully, with no sense of failure if the hypothesis turns out to be

wrong. (Stillman 1997)

There was a second aspect of Paul’s career, conservation. His activity as a

conservationist was lifelong; indeed, it has extended beyond his life in the form

of property he and his wife, Mary, bequeathed (as the Rutgers Creek Wildlife

Conservancy) to an organization committed to students, teachers, and scientists

interested in the environment and natural systems. That conservancy has been

administered through an affiliation with the Pocono Environmental Education

Center at Dingman’s Ferry, Pennsylvania. John Padalino directed the center

until his retirement.